This is the second time that the FTC has disciplined the CBD industry, says Smith, whose agency reprimanded a California company in April for making false claims about CBD s prevention or treatment of COVID-19. This is the first time that the FTC has put the bite on multiple businesses at once, though; five of those companies paid between $20,000 and $85,000 in penalities. We are not saying CBD products cannot provide some benefit to some CBD consumers, [but] the same rules of the road apply to CBD products as all dietary health products and supplements, Smith said during a press conference announcing the operation. Some companies claimed that their CBD products were more effective than prescription medication for that condition. . That proof simply doesn t exist, and there can be serious life consequences that grasp at the hope.